“Project Runway” provided an intriguing and surprisingly divisive episode Thursday that initially left the Watcher puzzled – but as of Friday morning I must concede that the judges actually know what they’re talking about.

The assignment for the designers was to build an outfit around one of Philip Treacy’s outrageous hats – which the designers seemed thrilled to do, even though the challenge held the very real possibility of making their work look shabby in comparison.

The judges had a different view, though. Michael won the challenge and Christopher landed in the bottom three. Initially, I agreed with the contestants. But after staring at the pictures for awhile, I am forced to concede that perhaps Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and HeidiKlum really do know more about fashion than I do.

Michael C.’s dress was a great match for his hat, while Christopher’s was far too harsh. And let’s not forget, the season’s first three winning designs were unstructured. Christian Siriano and Leanne Marshall might have won “Project Runway” with highly architectural styles, but that is not the flavor of the moment. (Even Christian’s 2010 spring line concedes the point.)

Of course, even given the judges’ essential correctness, I still think Christopher’s work was not as bad as Casanova’sblack dress that Tim derided as “Donna Karan 1988.”